In this 1994 collection, selected from the Nobel Laureate's first three decades of writing, Alice Munro lets the seemingly quotidian lives of people in the cities, small towns, and farmsteads of midwestern Canada unfold until they become as spacious as the prairies themselves.

"A literature lover's feast, this phenomenal collection of 28 short stories ... showcases Munro's mastery of the form, her vibrantly evocative prose and her undiluted, incisive vision of human nature.... Munro's stories are always trenchant, finely modulated and truly brilliant meditations on peoples' complexities and the emotions they contend with—sometimes ruefully, sometimes in pain, but most often with stoic dignity."—Publishers Weekly

"Munro's place in the constellation of short story masters, which includes such kindred spirits as Sherwood Anderson, Flannery O'Connor, and William Maxwell, is affirmed and celebrated. Like her peers, Munro has established a distinctive territory: the country and small towns that hug the shores of Lake Huron ... and she populates it with a host of unique and memorable characters, from the determinedly good-natured old piano teacher in the haunting 'Dance of the Happy Shades,' to Rose, the bold heroine of a trio of exceptionally frank stories, including the fresh and riveting 'Wild Swans.' In story after story, each so different in content and mood from the next, Munro achieves a consistent and remarkable ease of syntax, delicacy of psychology, and resonance of visual imagery. There is much to savor and treasure here."—Booklist